Recently, consumption of liquefied gas such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has been rapidly increasing worldwide.
In particular, liquefied natural gas (hereinafter, “LNG”) is an eco-friendly fuel with low emission of air pollutants during combustion and is increasingly used in various fields.
LNG is a colorless transparent liquid which can be obtained by cooling natural gas containing methane as a main component to about −162° C. and has a volume of about 1/600 that of natural gas. Thus, liquefaction of natural gas into LNG enables very efficient transportation of natural gas. For example, LNG carriers are used to transport (carry) LNG by sea.
As international and domestic regulation standards for ships become increasingly strict, there is growing interest in eco-friendly high-efficiency fuels for ships. Particularly, a dual fuel diesel electric engine (DFDE) that can be fueled by a gas generated by natural or forced evaporation of LNG was developed and put into use.
Such a ship fueled by LNG is referred to as an LNG fueled ship (LFS). With tightened international emission standards for ships and stabilization of LNG prices, consumption of LNG as a marine fuel is expected to increase.